Federick’s Restaurant
1920 Ellesmere Road
416-439-9234
Dinner for two, with all taxes and tip: $40

There are a few important things that every Indian expatriate in Toronto and its suburbs will know: one of them is where to buy chapatis in bulk quantities, and the other, where to source the best Hakka this side of the Atlantic.

Indian Hakka cooking is legendary – amongst those of the Indo-Chinese Diaspora. The highly educated self-titled Hakka people of China are part of the earliest diasporic movements in the world. After centuries of migration from northern China to the southern provinces, millions of Hakka people left the south by sea and settled on coasts around the world, including the port cities of Bombay and Calcutta. Reflecting their transcultural adaptability, the Hakka people living in India created a unique cuisine that melded Indian spices with their own simple cooking styles. A far cry from the signature, simply spiced dishes of their ancestors, Indian Hakka food is a scorching ride for the palate.

Continue reading Chinese Food, Indian Flavour »

The Real Jerk
709 Queen Street East
416-463-6055
Dinner for two, with all taxes and tip: $40

At the south-east corner of Queen Street and Broadview Avenue is a tri-coloured corner the likes of which there is none to be seen in Toronto. With a red, yellow and green paint job, a big, shiny, smiley sun and an enormous palm tree stuck to one side of it, and a bamboo-font proclaiming it to be The Real Jerk, it’s hard for me to decide whether this corner is an eyesore or one of the happiest-looking places in the city. I choose the latter. To be fair, they have had to compete with large posters of undressed women on the facade of the (in)famous, now-defunct strip club Jilly’s, across the street.

Continue reading Not Feeling Irie »

786 Halal Restaurant
1330 Gerrard Street East
416-406-0786
Dinner for two, with all taxes, tip and a mango lassi: $55

The mammoth Lahore Tikka House erupts on Gerrard Street floor by floor, dwarfing the smaller establishments dotting the neighbourhood of Little India. It is unfortunate to see so many of these places repeatedly shut down and reopen in the shadow of one or two that have come to epitomize the Great Indian dining experience on Gerrard Street.

Of the new restaurants that have recently opened, however, there is one in particular that comes as exciting news for lovers of North Indian and Pakistani cuisine. Montreal’s famous 786 Halal Restaurant* opened its doors last year in Toronto, diagonally across from the Lahore Tikka House, and is sure to give the monolith a run for its money.

Continue reading Montreal’s Famous Pakistani Eatery Comes to Toronto »

Xam Yu
339 Spadina Avenue
416-340-8603
Dinner for two, with all taxes, tip and beer: $70

I have just spent the better part of Sunday morning with a friend as he test-drives his dream luxury car at a showroom in Whitby. What am I doing here? It’s hot. I can’t even afford a Vespa. And I’m in Whitby. I envision myself at the seaside with a large, grilled crab and a cold beer. All of a sudden, I’m very hungry, but I know that my shallow pockets will not support my shellfish cravings.

Enter Xam Yu, giving succour to those with expensive tastes and miniscule wallets. My friend knows it well, so he takes me there as a reward for my extreme patience. Located at the northeast corner of Spadina Avenue and Baldwin Street, this gem of a restaurant is already highly respected, as it turns out from the reviews posted inside their doors. Yet, very few of my friends have actually heard of it. Amidst the glut of Chinese restaurants on Spadina, it would be easy to overlook this understated place, but what a mistake that would be.

Continue reading Seafood Extravaganza on a Small Budget »